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Heather

Q: Is Heather natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Solvent extraction of flowering tops of Calluna vulgaris yields a rare absolute. Extremely low yields make natural heather absolute a specialty product. Most perfumery applications use synthetic reconstruction..

FLOWERS / earthy · floral · sweet

Heather

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	earthy · floral · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Calluna vulgaris
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Europe
Pyramid	Heart

The smell of Scottish highlands under low clouds. Honeyed, green, faintly medicinal -- wildflower stubborn enough to bloom on moorland.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Honeyed, green, and faintly medicinal. The floral note is gentle and diffuse -- not a single concentrated flower but a whole field breathing. A thin sweetness like heather honey sits over a green, herbaceous base with a faint bitter-medicinal edge. The overall impressi on is atmospheric and territory-scale rather than close-up botanical.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Green-honeyed sweetness, faint medicinal edge

After a few hours

Diffuse floral warmth, landscape-scale atmosphere

After a few days

Soft honeyed trace, gentle and fading

The Full Story

Heather (Callun a vulgar is) is an persistent shrub native to the moorlands of Europe, particularly Scotl and, Irel and, and Scandinavi a, where it covers vast stretches of acidic, wind-swept terra in. Its small purple-pink flowers produce a particular honey-like, green, and faintly medicinal scent that is inseparable from the territory itself.

True heather absolute is rare and expensive, obtained by solvent extraction of the flowering tops. The yield is extremely low and the product has limited commercial availability. Most 'heather' effects in perfumery are recreated using combinations of honey materials, green notes, and soft florals.

The scent of heather is atmospheric rather than concentrated -- it is a territory smell, not a single-flower smell. On the moors, heather scent is always mixed with peat, rain, cold air, and the mineral tang of granite. This environmental context is part of what perfumers try to capture.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Did You Know?

Did you know?

Heather honey, produced by bees foraging exclusively on Calluna vulgaris, has a unique thixotropic property: it is gel-like when undisturbed but becomes liquid when stirred. This physical oddity makes it a expensive honeys in the world.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Solvent extraction of flowering tops of Calluna vulgaris yields a rare absolute. Extremely low yields make natural heather absolute a specialty product. Most perfumery applications use synthetic reconstruction.

Molecular Formula	N/A — complex natural
CAS Number	84603-54-3 (Calluna vulgaris flower extract)
Botanical Name	Calluna vulgaris
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	LING · WINTER HEATHER · SCOTCH HEATHER
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Flash Point	> 158.00 °F. TCC ( > 70.00 °C. ) (est)
Specific Gravity	0.900 to 0.950 @ 25.00 °C. (est, extract)

In Perfumery

Heather functions as a heart note in green-floral, honey, and territory compositions. The note is typically reconstructed from honey materials, green notes, and soft florals rather than from natural heather absolute. Works in compositions evoking British or Scottish landscapes, wild gardens, and naturalistic outdo or effects.